Shortly after eating lunch and taking the children to see Santa, we heard people yelling in the town square of Cherryvale Mall. We stopped just past the elevator and looked around. A few years back someone lit themselves on fire in protest at the very same mall so of course like a true American I got my camera out. I was face to face with the Occupy Rockford movement. People strolled in calling and responding "Occupy Rockford!" They hung a banner from the second floor mezzanine and read a short paragraph just feet from us. We were unable to discern much over the din of the holiday shoppers, other than "...We are your friends and neighbors!..." Next the police rushed up and confiscated the banner and stood very close to our neighbors who started to sing "This Land is Your Land." Then I raised a camera to capture what felt sort of patriotic and sweet and this is what happened.
Other full video here.
Way to welcome out of town visitors Cherryvale Mall!
UPDATE: There is nothing in Cherryvale Mall's Code of Conduct that says anything about taking a video.
11 comments:
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20111125-editorial-know-photos-laws-when-security-is-an-issue.ece
Jenny-
1. From what I have seen from the other videos posted on Occupy Rockford,you were singled out by the Mall Cops. I saw several men taking longer length videos and the Mall Cops said a thing to them. Here you are a woman with 2 young children and they tell YOU that YOU can not make a video recording in the mall. That is utter bull shit!I also wonder if they would have done the same thing to you if you were video taping your children in the play area? I doubt it! I guess the Mall Cops did not know who they were messing with, cause the Jenny that I know will not let this incident be swept under the carpet!
2. In the mall 'Behavioral Code of Conduct'the author(s) try to cover their but by putting in the clause stating that, "This list is not all inclusive and may be modified at any time by the management of this mall." and that, "Violation of this code of conduct may result in expulsion from this property in addition to any other legal remedies that mall management may choose to exercise. This shopping center is private property and no rights shall accrue to the public by virtue of the public’s entry into this mall or on mall property."
3.Yet a few sentences later the writer(s)of the code of conduct try to cover the mall's constitutional butt by indicating that,"This 'Behavioral Code of Conduct' is not intended to deprive any person of their applicable civil rights or liberties under the law." Hmmm, can we say "contradiction?"
I am going to cease shopping at Cherry Vale Mall, not that I go there all that often anyway, and I am also going to ask all of my friends and family members to boycott Cherry Vale Mall also!
Ok, I am getting off my soap box now!
My name is David Soll, I am an official spokesperson for Occupy Rockford and I want to say thank you for giving us a plug, doing your part to try and video-archive this wonderful world-wide movement (well, our small corner of it), and to offer you a heart felt apology (from ALL the members of Occupy Rockford) for the treatment of the local authorities to what must have seemed an easy taget in their eyes. Perhaps if they knew you ran a blog, they might have done things differently?
Not "treatment of the"... but "treatment by the"
That's crazy how they jumped right on you. I went to the Occupy Rockford site and watched two other videos--one of them almost four minutes long. Neither of those people were approached by security.
Wow, go get 'em Jenny Mathews! Very proud of you.
Mike Hughes
Great job with this!!!
Thank you everyone for your attention. I plan to write letters when I make it home (tomorrow) I'll keep you all updated. Stay tuned. :)
This is David Soll again (spoke-person for Occupy Rockford) ...
I was the one who taped the near 4 minute video that Debbie spoke of ... and she is quite correct that it was total BS that the cops thought they could stop a woman with kids and leave a white guy standing there with no one with him free to tape away. Although, I did have my Occupy Rockford t-shirt on... but that still is no excuse for the cops to target you.
So I wrote a short note to the management company at
info@cblproperties.com
and included this blog post link as well as filling out the contact us form at
http://shopcherryvalemall.com/shop/cherryvale.nsf/ContentContact
I asked them to clarify their policy. Let's see if I get a response. I'll post if I do.
If I don't, then another letter will be in order.
Response
http://bombadee.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-cherry-vale-mall-response.html
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